Atkins is just one season removed from being paid $4.5 million by the Orioles, but that was a terrible signing last winter and he appeared in all of 44 games before Baltimore cut bait.

This offseason he managed only a minor-league deal and couldn’t even claim a bench spot on one of the worst teams in baseball, which says the 31-year-old might be just about finished. He hit .129 this spring.

He hit .329 with 29 homers and 120 RBIs in 2006, but Atkins’ production has steadily declined since then and only Coors Field kept that from becoming more obvious sooner. He may still have enough left in the tank to make it back in the majors as a bench bat or platoon player, but Atkins will likely have to prove himself at Triple-A first.